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  <title>Setting Preferences for Comparing Files</title>
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  <h1>Setting Preferences for Comparing Files</h1>
  <p>When you select to compare or synchronize two or more resources in the Workbench, one or more comparison editors
  usually open. To customize how these editors behave:</p>
  <ol>
    <li>Open the <a class="command-link" href=
    'javascript:executeCommand("org.eclipse.ui.window.preferences(preferencePageId=org.eclipse.compare.internal.ComparePreferencePage)")'>
    <img src="PLUGINS_ROOT/org.eclipse.help/command_link.svg" alt="command link"> <b>General &gt; Compare/Patch</b></a>
    preference page.</li>
    <li>Set your preferences and click <b>OK</b>.</li>
  </ol>
  <p class="Para">You can configure the following options on the <b>General</b> tab.</p>
  <table>
    <thead>
      <tr>
        <th>
          <p class="Para">Option</p>
        </th>
        <th>
          <p class="Para">Description</p>
        </th>
        <th>
          <p class="Para">Default</p>
        </th>
      </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
      <tr>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Open structure compare automatically</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Makes an additional information area visible which shows differences in the underlying
          structure of the resources being compared. This information may not be available for all comparisons.</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">On</p>
        </td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Show structure compare in Outline view when possible</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">If this option is on, structure compare will be displayed in the Outline view whenever it is
          possible.</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Off</p>
        </td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Ignore white space</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Causes the comparison to ignore differences which are whitespace characters (spaces, tabs,
          etc.). Also causes differences in line terminators ( LF versus CRLF) to be ignored.</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Off</p>
        </td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Automatically save dirty editors before patching</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">This option controls whether any unsaved changes are automatically saved before a patch is
          applied.</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Off</p>
        </td>
      </tr>
    </tbody>
  </table>
  <p class="Para">You can configure the following options in the <b>Text Compare</b> tab.</p>
  <table>
    <thead>
      <tr>
        <th>
          <p class="Para">Option</p>
        </th>
        <th>
          <p class="Para">Description</p>
        </th>
        <th>
          <p class="Para">Default</p>
        </th>
      </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
      <tr>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Synchronize scrolling between panes in compare viewers</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">The two compare viewers will "lock scroll" along with one another in order to keep identical
          and corresponding portions of the code in each pane side by side.</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">On</p>
        </td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Initially show ancestor pane</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Sometimes you may want to compare two versions of a resource with the previous version from
          which they were both derived. This is called their <i>common ancestor</i>, and it appears in its own
          comparison pane during a three way comparison.</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Off</p>
        </td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Show pseudo conflicts</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Displays conflicts that occur when two developers make the same change, for example when both
          add or remove the same line of code.</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Off</p>
        </td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Connect ranges with single line</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Controls whether differing ranges are visually connected by a single line or a range
          delimited by two lines.</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">On</p>
        </td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Highlight individual changes</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Controls whether the individual changes inside conflicts are highlighted .</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">On</p>
        </td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Disable capping when comparing large documents</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">The capping mechanism is used to speed up finding differences in large files. In case where
          the capping happens the result can either be correct or it can display too many changes, but it never misses
          any change. Turn this option on, if you prefer a precise result in favour of possibly longer calculation
          time.</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Off</p>
        </td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Swap left and right</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Allows to swap the left and right side of the compare panes.</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Off</p>
        </td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">When the end/beginning is reached while navigating an element</p>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Use this option to configure what occurs when the end/beginning is reached while navigating
          an element. The options are:</p>
          <ul>
            <li>Prompt</li>
            <li>Go to the beginning/end of the element</li>
            <li>Display the next/previous element</li>
            <li>Do nothing</li>
          </ul>
        </td>
        <td>
          <p class="Para">Prompt</p>
        </td>
      </tr>
    </tbody>
  </table>
  <h3 class="related">Related Concepts</h3><a href="../concepts/concepts-29.htm">Three way comparisons</a>
  <h3 class="related">Related Tasks</h3><a href="tasks-68.htm">Comparing resources</a><br>
  <a href="tasks-115.htm">Synchronizing with the repository</a><br>
  <a href="tasks-68dg.htm">Merging changes in the Compare editor</a>
  <h3 class="related">Related Reference</h3><a href="../reference/ref-25.htm">Compare editor</a><br>
  <a href="../reference/ref-11.htm">Compare/Patch preferences</a>
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